


Scars

by Churbooseanon



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-26 23:50:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1707083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Churbooseanon/pseuds/Churbooseanon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s easier to keep going when you’ve got friends to depend on and take care of. And lots of ammo boxes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scars

“I’m back,” York mumbled to himself with a sigh. Coming home was always the most exciting part of his trips out. If, of course, exciting had the meaning of totally tedious and frustrating.

“It is highly improbable that, speaking at such a level, your statement will yield a response.”

“Yeah, except from you, D,” he couldn’t help but laugh. The AI was always more than willing to throw in his carefully calculated two cents. If only the little guy realized that sometimes he really didn’t need someone saying something to him.

This, of course, was one of those times. Now came the hardest part of the day. Getting back was always frustratingly hard. After all, it wasn’t like they lived somewhere that was easy to access. The point had been to find somewhere hard to find, somewhere they could keep safe, somewhere secret. Unfortunately they had found the perfect place, several meters into a cliff side. The only problem was that to get one had to squeeze through a painfully tight crack two meters long. With a sigh York raised his hands to the lock releases of his helmet.

“Delta, keep an eye out for me, okay?”

“Of course. I will direct all external observation devices to assuring our security.”

That was the best that he could ask for, and so York started stripping off pieces of his armor. In his full Freelancer gear he could never fit through the crack. In fact, if it hadn’t been for Delta and Theta they never would have found this place. As it was they had to almost strip down fully to just their under-suits to get though. The other pieces of their armor had to be dragged after them in a bag. It wasn’t so bad if you weren’t also trying to haul back supplies.

“All is clear on the peripherals,” Delta informed him as York finished stripping down and stuffing his gear into a bag. It was almost weird to think that he ended up taking his armor on and off more now than he ever had with Freelancer. Not that he could do much about it.

“Thanks, D. It’s time for us to get home. You ready for a rest?”

“You are aware that I do not rest in a manner similar to that you humans require. In fact…”

“It doesn’t take that much analysis, okay? Just say yes.”

“Yes. That is understood, Agent York.”

“It’s just York. Geez, D, I’ve really got to teach you how to chill.”

“I do not see what temperature has to do with…”

“D.”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

While getting through the crevice hauling several sacks tied together wasn’t quite on the level of trying to fight Tex, it was close enough, and the trip took several minutes. After what felt like an eternity he finally made it past the crevice and into the area where the rocks opened up into a rather reasonable cave system.

“Took you long enough to get back,” a voice greeted him, and York didn’t even have to look around to know it would be North, leaning against the stone wall where the crevice opened.

“Yeah, well you try hauling all this stuff after you next time you come in,” York countered, slowly hauling bag after bag from the rocks. “Plus I needed to give D a little lesson on…”

“Say no more,” North laughed, moving forward to help York gather the bags. “Looks like a good haul.”

“Well, I get paid well for my work.”

“You mean Delta’s work,” North teased, lifting a bag over his shoulder. “I’ve never seen you…”

“Geez, I’m actually really good at locks. I swear. It’s just that sometimes, usually at the most dramatic possible moments, things just go wrong. You’d almost thing I was in a movie or something. Anyway, the job went well and this should hold us for another month. Though we won’t need that long. We’ll be moving in a week or so, I know it.”

“Yeah. Just a bit longer and we’ll be ready to go,” North agreed, smiling. “I got a message from South recently. She’s found a good place for us to set up.”

“We’re going to make the best merc company,” York insisted, his own smile almost painfully wide. “With you to cover our backs, South to be the main line, yours truly to handle any locks and support South, and Wash to…”

“It is highly unlikely that Agent Washington will be capable of performing any useful role for a mercenary unit within a few weeks time,” Delta informed them, instantly breaking the mood. North’s smile faded, and while York tried his best to keep his own up, in the end even he had to relent to Delta’s statement.

“Way to kill the mood, D. Is he still…”

The fact that North didn’t even nod, didn’t meet his eyes, told York everything he needed to know and then some.

Far too soon he saw the truth with his own two eyes. After a few bends in the cave they entered a large area that served as their home. It was, in all honesty, pretty comfortable for some literal hole in the wall. They had all the amenities that York could acquire from his jobs, ranging from tables made out of ammo boxes to chairs made out of ammo boxes to even, and this one was his personal favorite, shelves made out of ammo boxes. There was also more necessary things, like blankets, food, even a small fire pit they carefully managed and had spent nearly a month carving a smoke hole for. It was absolutely the most luxurious place he had ever lived.

Not that luxury mattered. What mattered was the shelter, the safety, the place where they could keep him safe.

“Morning, Wash,” York greeted cheerfully as they entered the cavern. The bags were lowered to the floor almost instantly, and then he was kneeling at the side of the mound of blankets that made up Wash’s bed. “Brought you some awesome stuff today. Top of the list is something new to our wonderful little home. You’d never believe it. I actually picked up some ammo boxes. Can you believe our luck? Oh, and there’s boring stuff like food and a new radio kit that Delta’s promised to try to get fixing. Let’s see, what else did I get. Right, this one North might fight you over. I’ve got a stack of letters from our favorite fellow escapees! Tex sends her best, which isn’t very much of course. Then there’s South, who was more than happy to be an ass the whole way through. Sorry North, just calling it like I see it. And then I grabbed…”

“Stop. Please. Just make them stop,” Wash groaned, curling in up into a smaller ball than he’d already been in. “Just make them…”

“Bad day, huh?” York asked, but he knew the answer. It was no different now than it had been the day before and the day before that and the day before that. Weeks back. Months back. A year back.

“Some scars take longer to heal,” North responded, his hand on York’s shoulder.

And Epsilon had left some pretty serious scars. The only problem was that York didn’t know if they could heal. How did one heal memories?


End file.
